Thursday, 11 September 2008

Since last night the summer soup break is officially over. I love soup and it is getting to that time of year where the evenings are getting cold and dark enough to have loads of it. Don't get me wrong I'll occassionaly eat soup during the summer, but only when I eat out.

The last couple of days, since getting back from Germany it has been pretty miserable outside, so the weather combined with my cold made me crave a bowl of hot, steaming soup. While I was at my mum and dad's house, one of the local farm shops had a pumpkin and potato fete, which really got me into thinking about autumn and all it's glory, the lovely colours, the frosty and misty mornings, the still sunny days and of course all the autumn vegetables that are already or will soon be available everywhere.

Inspired by all the glorious varieties at the farm shop fete, I quickly decided that pumpkin soup would be the first soup I would make. When I went to my local shop here though all I could get my hands on was a butternut squash, so that's what I used, but if you have of a beautiful pumpkin why not use that instead. I also cheated and used roast pepper from a jar, as it needed using up, but you could easily roast your own at the same time as the squash or pumpkin.

Cut your butternut squash in half lengthwise and remove the seeds with a spoon.

Drizzle with a little olive oil and place in a baking tray in an oven at 200C/Gas 5 for about 45 minutes to an hour, until the flesh is soft.

In the meantime heat a little oil in a large, heavy-based pan and sweat the onions until translucent. Add the garlic and cook for another minute or two. Add the pepper, ginger, chili and half of the stock. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 10 minutes. Remove from heat.

Once the butternut squash or pumpkin is done, scoop out all the soft flesh and add to the pan. Puree, using a stick blender until smooth and add the rest of the stock until you get your desired thickness.

Season with salt and pepper and bring to a simmer. Cook for a further 5-10 minutes.

This soup sounds so delicious. I've actually never had this or pumpkin soup, but I do have a butternut squash sitting on my counter. Funny thing is, I've been meaning to look up a soup recipe! I think I might come back to this recipe later on in the week and try it out :).

That looks delicious, Ive just started to make soups, but ive only made the usual tomato and vegetable, tomorow I am going to make this one I love peppers and squash, and it is always soup weather in England :(

Sylvie, I just made this soup from some butternut squash leftovers on the turn in the fridge. I didn't have a red pepper or fresh ginger, and only accompanied the soup with a warmed stale baguette, BUT it was STILL delicious! Thanks for saving me out here in Brooklyn on a night where it's too late to trawl the streets for ingredients. My Angel xx

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I love food and I love sharing my enthusiasm for good quality ingredients and often simple recipes. I am German but live in Manchester, England and I use this blog to share what's cooking and baking in my kitchen. I'd love to hear from you so please leave a comment or feel free to ask me a question!